By Scott Weidensaul 

Migratory birds—which must overcome so many natural challenges as they journey from one end of the globe to another—are having a much harder time overcoming the obstacles that humans have added to the mix: habitat loss, environmental contaminants, climate change, and a lot more.

But we humans can be helpful, too. I saw vivid proof of that last January in the highlands of northern Nicaragua, where declining migrants such as Wood Thrushes spend the nonbreeding season. For years, this area has been a stronghold for farmers growing quality shade coffee. Not coincidentally, it’s also known as a paradise for birds.

An island of fertile green

Everywhere we looked, we saw migrants: Philadelphia, Warbling, and Yellow-throated Vireos; Tennessee, Chestnut-sided, Wilson’s, and Yellow Warblers rolling through the understory in constant, flickering motion; Western Kingbirds and Western Wood-Pewees hawking insects in the treetops; Summer Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks mixing with resident species like Black-headed Saltators and Clay-colored Robins. Flocks of Baltimore Orioles descended on blossoming trees and plucked the brilliant yellow flowers, dropping showers of blooms as they drank the rich pockets of nectar they’d revealed.

The highlands of northern Nicaragua, a productive shade coffee-growing region and refuge for migratory birds in winter. Photo by Scott Weidensaul. Rose-breasted Grosbeak / Photo by Bob Lewis

Later, in the village of San Juan del Río Coco, I met with members of a cooperative of more than 400 small coffee producers who raise more than 2.5 million pounds of shade coffee every year. These producers raise coffee the way it’s been farmed for centuries there, below the canopy of intact, functioning forests that provide critical habitat for scores of migratory bird species. When these shade coffee farmers prosper, the outlook for migratory birds gets brighter, too.

Seen from space, though, the hills around San Juan del Río Coco are an island of fertile green surrounded by hundreds of square kilometers of land already converted to sun coffee, pasture, and grain fields.

The fertile hills around Nicaragua’s San Juan del Río Coco are surrounded by denuded landscapes like this one—former forests converted to sun coffee, pasture, and grain fields. Photo by Scott Weidensaul.

Increasingly, small shade coffee farms have been destroyed to make way for sun-tolerant coffee—an industrialized, chemical-dependent system that renders what had been prime bird habitat into the ecological equivalent of a parking lot. By some estimates, more than 40 percent of the shade coffee farms in Latin America have already been lost to satiate the demand for cheap coffee.…

By Ilana DeBare

What a glorious day for a count! It started out cool and windy, especially for the teams by the ocean, but by midday the sun was strong and hats came off.

And best of all… we set a new record for the San Francisco Christmas Bird Count.

Eighteen teams counted a preliminary total of 179 species — breaking the prior SF CBC record of 177 species and surpassing this year’s Oakland CBC total of 177. (Not that San Franciscans are competitive, of course — not in the slightest.)

“It was a remarkable day. I’m anxious to see the total numbers we ended up with,” said CBC co-compiler Dan Murphy, who together with co-compiler Alan Hopkins will now collect and tally final numbers.

North Beach CBC team on Telegraph Hill / Photo by Carlo Arreglo

Some preliminary findings from the count, as reported at the festive CBC dinner at the Log Cabin in the Presidio:

• The only remaining California Quail found in the 15-mile-wide San Francisco count circle were at the Pacifica archery range.
• Two Clapper Rails were found at Heron’s Head Park.

• The team covering eastern Golden Gate Park set a new record of 70 species in its territory and had a “seven warbler day.”

• The Sunset team counted 1,900 Red-throated Loons along the beach!
• The Lake Merced team counted 40 rarities from six species that are not usually found in San Francisco, including Tree Swallows, White-throated Swifts, Great-tailed Grackles and a Tropical Kingbird.
• The McLaren Park team – one of the teams with a particular challenge since their territory was landlocked, without water birds – found 55 species including four woodpecker species.
• The Presidio team encountered some 3,000 gulls at a massive herring run at the end of the day.
• The team with the highest count for the day was the Candlestick area team with a whopping 113 species, edging out the Presidio which had 104.

Lunch break for the eastern Golden Gate Park team / Photo by Ilana DeBare

Click here to see more photos of the count (both birds and birders) and the dinner afterwards on our Facebook page.

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By Mike Lynes, GGBA Executive Director

Amidst the excitement of the Oakland Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, we were saddened to hear news that Rich Stallcup had passed away from leukemia the previous evening.

Rich was one of the leaders of Bay Area birding and ornithology — helping found the Point Reyes Bird Observatory and educating countless fledgling birders and naturalists through the years.

I had the privilege of meeting Rich when I worked at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, the organization that Rich helped found in the late 1960s and that he contributed to throughout his life. Rich was always generous with his time and knowledge and enjoyed educating a new generation of naturalists and birders. Many of us starting out as biologists at PRBO benefited immensely from his guidance and example.

Rich Stallcup / Photo from Bay Nature magazine

Oakland count compiler Dave Quady opened the CBC dinner on Sunday night with a tribute to Rich. Dave noted that Rich’s life was dedicated to enjoying birds and sharing that joy with others. Getting outside for bird walks and Christmas Bird Counts — and sharing those experiences with new people — are perhaps the greatest ways we can carry on his legacy. Everyone in the room then stood for a moment of applause and honor to Rich.

GGBA board member John Muir “Jack” Laws posted this personal note about Rich on PRBO’s memorial page:

While I was working on my Sierra field guide, I visited Rich with a pile of illustrations. He patiently went through them with me pointing out the subtlest corrections and suggested changes. As he did his stories began to flow as drawings triggered memories and anecdotes. He shared his knowledge, encouragement, and joy. Rich was deeply committed to conservation. I think that came from his love of nature that was regularly refreshed with time in the field. He fostered that love and stewardship in many of his students. We will miss you dear friend.

We at Golden Gate Bird Alliance are extremely saddened by Rich’s loss, and we extend our condolences to his family and friends.

If you would like to share your memories of Rich, please visit PRBO’s memorial web page at http://data.prbo.org/tools/guestbook/RichStallcup.html .

Oakland CBC dinner gives a standing ovation in memory of Rich Stallcup / Photo by Ilana DeBare…

Sunday December 16th was Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s 72nd annual Christmas Bird Count in Oakland. About 200 volunteers fanned out in a 15-mile circle, from the Oakland Airport in the south to Point Isabel in the north, and from Lafayette Reservoir in the east to Treasure Island in the West. Here is the initial report by Dave Quady, who organized the count with Bob Lewis. They will have a final report in several weeks.

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By Dave Quady

About 200 birders covered the Oakland CBC count circle yesterday in far better weather than predicted a few days earlier, and they recorded 177 species (preliminary count), right around our recent average.

For the first time that I can recall we missed NO regularly occurring species on count day.  But we’re still interested in hearing about any unusual species found within the Oakland CBC circle during count week (Thurs Dec 13 through Wed Dec 19).  Please send me an email with details if you see, or have seen, a noteworthy species.

Arrowhead Marsh team discusses a rail sighting / Photo by Ilana DeBare

On Sunday, observers reported these unusual species:

• Snow Goose: near the soccer fields along the frontage road at Eastshore State Park, Berkeley
• Ross’s Goose: one on the infield at Golden Gate Fields, and one at Arrowhead Marsh

Ross's Goose at Arrowhead March / Photo by Ilana DeBare

• Long-billed Dowitchers: at San Leandro Bay, identified by call
• Short-eared Owl: one near the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza, and presumably a second bird at Arrowhead Marsh
• Tree Swallows: a few over Lafayette Reservoir were the only swallow species reported
• Black-and-white Warbler: between Albany Hill and the Ranch 99 (Pacific East Mall)

• Hermit Warbler: one visiting a feeder on Yolo Street in Berkeley, one in the Tilden Park Botanical Garden, and one on Vollmer Peak
• Clay-colored Sparrow: at a feeder on Deakin Street in Berkeley, photographed when it appeared about a week ago and also on Count Day.  At the compilation dinner it was chosen as the count’s Best Bird.
• Swamp Sparrow: at Lafayette Reservoir near the visitor center, as George Griffeth reported to EBB Sightings yesterday

  Lafayette Reservoir team / Photo by Ilana DeBare

Mountain View Cemetery team / Photo by Ilana DeBare

I understand that there were recent reports of Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks in Tilden Park. Neither species was found yesterday; if they were confirmed during count week, I’d appreciate receiving details.  …

This is the second in an occasional series of reviews of Bay Area birding locations. Do you have a favorite site you’d like to share? Email idebare@goldengatebirdalliance.org. 

By Marissa Ortega-Welch

The average jogger running around Lake Merritt or average family picnicking on its shores doesn’t realize that Lake Merritt isn’t actually a lake. Most Bay Area birders, however, know that this gem of a birding spot smack dab in the middle of Oakland is actually a tidal lagoon, connected to the greater San Francisco Bay.

Local birders who want to view wintering waterfowl without driving all the way to the South Bay or the Sacramento Valley are rewarded with our annual vagrant Tufted Duck, Ring-necked Ducks, the occasional Redhead, and the rare Barrows Goldeneyes if we can pick them out from the Scaups, Canvasbacks, and over ten other species of waterfowl that raft on the lake’s waters.

Lake Merritt is an arm of the greater Bay estuary and the mouth of many creeks draining the surrounding Oakland hills, most notably Glen Echo and Indian Gulch Creek. Before Oakland grew up around it, the lagoon was a wetlands ecosystem like much of the Bay, with large fauna such as deer and elk grazing nearby, abundant fish, and thousands of waterfowl calling the place home for the winter.

Islands created for birds in Lake Merritt / Photo by Ilana DeBare Rafting waterfowl in front of the Embarcadero and fountain / Photo by Ilana DeBare

After Spanish colonization and the Gold Rush, Oakland developed as a city and so did the shoreline of what was then called “Laguna Peralta.” The homes along the lagoon dumped their sewage directly into its waters, which seemed convenient until the tide went out and residents were left with the nasty sights and smells of their own domestic discharge. The mayor of Oakland, Samuel Merritt, was one of these homeowners and had a grand plan to remedy this unsightly problem. He petitioned the City Council for help, and used both tax dollars and his own money to build a dam on the outlet of the lagoon, along today’s 12th Street, limiting the tidal changes so that the sewage would remain submerged and out of sight.

But another problem remained for homeowners like Merritt – hunters who were attracted to the lagoon’s waterfowl. The story goes that Merritt got tired of poachers on his land and bullets zinging through his property.…